Feeding means for textile fibrous material



g- 21, 1956 w. A. HUNTER ETAL FEEDING MEANS FOR TEXTILE FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Fb. 26, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet l 5.. I 2 9 M. Mm w 2 2 L 0 2 I a H 1 W A u n /a Z a, m 4 P .m 00 u 2 I 3 ll 3 Q 1 7 2.0% w m m 1 a 9 O 1 1 7 W 1 1 2 m I 3 M 1 x Q. Q

21, 1956 w. A. HUNTER ETAL FEEDING MEANS FOR TEXTILE FIBROUS MATERIAL 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 26, 1953 Aug. 21, 1956 w. A. HUNTER ET A L 2,759,225

FEEDING MEANS FOR TEXTILE FIBROUS MATERIAL Filed Feb. 26, 1953 3 Sheets-$heet 3 United States Patent FEEDING MEANS FOR TEXTILE iF-IBROUS MATERIAL William Aldred Hunter, 'Stanhi ll, Accrington, 'Frank 'Singleton, Accrington, and Leslie 'Witcombe, Prestwich, Manchester, England, assignors'to M. 'M. (Research) Limited, Helmshore, Rossen'dale, England, a British company Application February 26, 195$,SerialNo. 338,974

Claims priority, applicationGreat BritainMay 16, 1952 8 Claims. (Cl. 1'969) The object of this invention is to provide, for use in conjunction with a machine employed in the preparatory treatment of textile fibrous material "before processing, e. g. spinning, an improved apparatus for feeding fibrous material which is already in an open condition to said machine in a condition of uniform density and at a controlled rate.

An apparatus according to the invention comprises means for the conveyance thereto of the opened fibrous material, means for condensing receiving the conveyed material, a gravity-feed trunk beneath said cage condenser, a pair of metering elements at the 'base of said trunk for delivering material therefrom at a controlled rate in the form of 'a partially compacted sheet, and means sensitive to the head of material in the trunk for regulating the delivery of material to the trunk so as to maintain said head constant.

It will be appreciated that this form of delivery apparatus has a wide potential application. .It is envisaged that it may be employed to deliver fibrous material to a lattice conveyor, to a pair of cooperating feed elements such as two rollers or a roller-and-pedal system, -to a rotary beater, to calendering or lap-forming rollers, or to other types of machinery where it is desired to provide a controlled uniform feed of textile fibrous material in an open condition.

An embodiment of the invention @is illustrated in and hereinafter described with reference .to the accompanying drawings, of which Fig. 1 .is .atpartly sectional diagrammatic representation .of the .feed trunkand of the apparatus immediately associated therewith, Fig. 2-is a perspective view thereof, and Fig. 3 is acircuibdiagram relating to the feed delivery regulating means.

Referring to said drawings, the fibrous material which has been opened by an opening apparatus is delivered thereby to the pneumatic delivery duct 1, in which it is carried along by an airstream, which is generated -.by a constantly-operated fan 4, in the air discharge .duct 5. The duct 1, debouches into the casing .2, of a rotating cage 3, so as to deposit the fibrous material-entrained in the airstream upon the cylindrical surface .of caged. The cage wall is perforated and the airstream .passes through the interior of the cage and is exhausted axially therefrom into the discharge duct 5. Adamper v6 within the cage 3 and a resilient roller'7 rotatingin contact with its outer surface combine to seal oil the remainder of the casing, causing the fibres to be condensed upon the cylindrical surface of the cage and carried around the same until they reach the region .under the damper 6, where being no longer sustained by suction, they are free to fall by gravity.

Beneath the cage 3 is disposed the mouth of a vertical trunk 9 which is preferably of rectangular cross-section and into which the fibres fall continuously after reaching the damper 6. At the baseof the trunk-9 the outlet controlled by a pair of ribbed rollers 10, 11 rotating in contact in opposite directions in such fashion asto Patented Aug. 21, 1956 2 deliver the fibres in the form of alightly compacted sheet which, due to the fact that thefhead of material in the trunk is maintained {at a constant value by means hereinafter described, is of "uniform density. The sheet .delivered by'said ribbed rollers '10, 11 maybe transported to the machine which is fed by the present apparatus "in .any desired manner, 'e. gfby means of the 'feed lattice 12 upon which the fibrous sheet is arranged to fall from said rollers '10, 11.

In order to-assist ithefall of the material in the trunk 9"it may :be desirable'for the sides of'the "latter. to diverge slightly towards the outlet end. In .the apparatus illustrated in the drawing '(Fig. '1'), it will be seen that the wall "911 of the trunk is disposed divergently for this purpose. Further, in "orderto enable the final lap weight per unit length to be controlled more effectively in cases where the apparatus is used to feed .a lap-forming machine or an opening machine immediately prior to lapformation, the trunk wa'll"9a may be mounted movably so "that the cross-sectional .area .of the trunk may be varied to suit different conditions.

The several 'moving parts of the trunk apparatus may conveniently be driven by anelectri'c .motor 13, the fan 4"'b,eing geared thereto by lithe belt 14, and the roller 7 by -the belt 15,; the cage 3 is driven by suitable gearing (not shown) "byth'e roller 7. The motor 13 is also geared to one of the metering rollers, viz. the roller '11, by a belt 16, a "counter-shaft '17, a *belt "18, bevel-gears ,19, 20, the shaft 21, a belt 22, a variable-speed gear 23, a belt 24, apufl-leyZS, a shaft 2;6 and worm and wormwheel gears '27, 28. 'The variable speed unit 23 may be .used for regulating the rate of feed 'of the material by the rollers '10, T1 to the conveyor 12.

The means employed, in the form of the invention illustrated, to maintain the constant head of the fibrous material in the gravity-feed trunk 9, .will nowbe .described. Item'bodies a light-sensitive cell P, located in the trunk wall, which maybe energized by a beam of light projected across the trunk'by a light source,v conventionally indicated at p. The cell P, as shown, is located in the upper part tof'th'e trunk, at a'height above the'base of "the trunk such that, when the trunk is filled to the level of the cell, the mass of fibres at the base of thetrun k, from where they are extracted, will be of .a desired density.

"The cell 'P'will be illuminated by the beam of light when the latter is not interrupted by a mass of material in the "trunk, thetop ofthe column of which is at or above the level of the cell. *Itjis desired'to maintain the top of the column of material constantly at about this height, the material being'constantly, in normal operation, "fed into the upper .end of the trunk, from the opening machine, and withdrawn from the bottom by the rollers .10, 11. .The top ,of the column may rise, "during operation, 'sufficiently to obscure'the .cel'l P, because the rated feed of the material into the top of the column is or'has become more rapid than its rate of Withdrawal from the bottom,'b'oth of these rates of feed being adjustable.

The form of the inventiondescribed provides forthe stoppage or deceleration, .for a short "time, of the feed .of material into the topof the :trunkaawhen the level of .the material rises sufiiciently to act as a shutter ;be- .tween .the light source p, and the cell P. This may be accomplished by the apparatus diagrammatically illustrated, comprising the electrical relay apparatus Q, and .controller;29., in circuit with ;the.cell P... The zrelay-Q is arranged ,to be brought into ,operationautomatically by .thejinterrupt'ion of the lightbeam by the presence of material above the 'level of the cell. This operation of the relay ,then actuates controller, .to stop or decelerate the mechanism by which the material is fed into 3 the top of trunk 9, until the mass of fibres in this trunk has again sunk below the critical level. This may be accomplished by any well-known means, as will readily be understood. If, for example, the mechanism which feeds the material to the top of trunk 9, comprises an opening apparatus of well-known form, such as is shown in our co-pending application Serial No. 338,973, in which a feed lattice and coacting parts are driven by an electric motor, the controller 29, when actuated, will be so connected as to stop or reduce the speed of the motor, or to control a clutch mechanism through which one of the moving parts of the opener is operated, or the like.

It is desirable that the circuit of the relay Q shall only be actuated after the interruption of the illumination of the cell P has persisted continuously for a sensible period, say from two to four seconds, in order to avoid the stoppage or diminution of the supply to the trunk 9 merely by the momentary interruptions of the light beam such as might be caused by the successive passage of particles of the material falling into the trunk. On the other hand, it is also desirable that said circuit shall be operated rapidly when the head of material falls after the supply has been arrested or diminished, when it is necessary to resume the original rate of supply with a minimum delay. We accordingly provide an electronic control apparatus, one form of which is illustrated in Fig. 3, which will have an asymmetrical effect, inasmuch as its action in response to the interruption of the light beam upon the photo-electric cell P will be subject to a predetermined delay, though without delaying the reverse operation due to the restoration of illumination of said cell. We accordingly provide that the relay Q shall be controlled by the photo-electric cell P through the medium of a valve-amplifier circuit in which the operation of the relay by the interruption of the light beam is delayed by the time required to charge a condenser at a predetermined rate, while the reverse operation of said relay is actuated after said condenser has discharged at a higher rate.

Referring to the drawing last referred to, it will be seen that the cathode of the photo-electric cell P is connected to the grid of a first valve V1 having an anode resistor R3. The potential of the cathode of the valve V1 is determined by a potentiometer R1, R2. The anode of the valve V1 is connected to the grid of a second valve V2 and also to a condenser C. The anode of the valve V2 is connected to the grid of a third valve V3 having a relay Q in its anode circuit.

It will be understood by reference to the drawing that the valve V1 is prevented from conducting, except when the cell P is illuminated, by a suitable proportionment of the values of the resistances R1 and R2 to produce the required voltage on the cathode of said valve, and that in those circumstances the condenser C will be charged, the valve V will conduct, While the valve V3 is cut off and the relay Q in the anode circuit thereof is not operated.

When the cell P is illuminated, the valve V1 conducts causing the condenser C to discharge through said valve V1 and the resistance R2. The valve V2 is cut off by the consequent fall in the potential on its grid, and the potential on the grid of the valve V3 is raised. The valve V3 accordingly conducts, and the relay Q comes into operation. A low value is chosen for the resistance of the discharge path through the valve V1 and the resistance R2, thereby enabling the condenser C to discharge quickly, giving a minimum delay between the illumination of the cell P and the operation of the relay Q.

When the illumination of the cell P is next interrupted and the valve V1 is again out ofi, there is a delay in the response of the relay Q because the condenser must be re-charged through the resistance R3 before the valve V2 can conduct again. Thus, by choosing suitable values for the resistance R3 and the capacity of the condenser C, the period of delay in the return of the relay to the inoperative condition may be modified within practicable limits.

What we claim as our invention and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for feeding loose opened fibrous material, comprising a rotary cage condenser, means for delivering such material thereto at a constant normal rate, a gravity feed trunk beneath said condenser, disposed to receive the condensed material therefrom and having an outlet at its base, means for extruding material from said outlet at a predetermined constant rate in the form of a lightly compacted sheet, and means associated with said delivery means and actuated by the rise or fall of material in said trunk above or below a predetermined level for maintaining the head of material in said trunk substantially constant.

2. Apparatus for feeding loose opened fibrous material, comprising a rotary cage condenser, means for delivering such material thereto at a constant normal rate, a gravity feed trunk beneath said condenser, disposed to receive the condensed material therefrom and having an outlet at its base, means comprising a pair of co-operating oppositely rotating rollers for continuously extruding material from said outlet at a predetermined constant rate in the form of a lightly-compacted sheet, and means controlled by the rise or fall of the level of material in said trunk above or below a predetermined level for regulating the rate of delivery of material to said condenser by said first-mentioned means.

3. Apparatus for feeding loose opened fibrous material, comprising a condenser, means for delivering such material thereto at a constant normal rate, a gravity feed trunk beneath said condenser, disposed to receive the condensed material therefrom and having an outlet at its base, means for delivering material from said outlet at a predetermined constant rate in the form of a lightly compacted sheet, a light sensitive cell in said trunk and means for projecting a beam of light thereupon at a level at which, when the trunk is filled to that level, the material extracted from said outlet will have a desired density, and means governed by said cell for regulating the rate of delivery to said condenser by said firstmentioned means in accordance with whether or not the illumination of said cell is prevented by the rising of the column of material in said trunk above said level.

4. Apparatus for feeding loose fibrous materials, comprising a condenser, means for delivering such material thereto, control means for governing the rate of delivery by said first-named means, a gravity feed trunk positioned to receive the condensed material from said condenser and having an outlet at its base, means for delivering material from said outlet in the form of a lightly COlllpacted sheet at a predetermined constant rate, a lightsensitive cell in said trunk, means at the same horizontal level as said cell for projecting a beam of light thereupon when not interrupted by material in said trunk at such level, a relay connected to said control means and adapted when energised to actuate the same to decrease the rate of delivery of material to said condenser, and means for energising said relay when illumination of said cell is interrupted by the rising of the column of material in said trunk above said level.

5. Apparatus for feeding loose fibrous materials, comprising a condenser, means for delivering such material thereto, control means for governing the rate of delivery by said first-named means, a gravity feed trunk positioned to receive the condensed material from said condenser and having an outlet at its base, means for delivering material from said outlet in the form of a lightly cornpacted sheet at a predetermined constant rate, a lightsensitive cell in said trunk, means at the same horizontal level as said cell for projecting a beam of light thereupon when not interrupted by material in said trunk at such level, a relay connected to said control means and adapted when energised to actuate the same to decrease the rate of delivery of material to said condenser, and circuit connections for energising said relay when illumination of said cell is interrupted, including means for preventing actuation of said relay during a short predetermined period when interruption of such illumination is just beginning or is momentary.

6. Apparatus for feeding loose fibrous materials, comprising a condenser, means for delivering such material thereto, control means for governing the rate of delivery by said first-named means, a gravity feed trunk positioned to receive the condensed material from said condenser and having an outlet at its base, means for delivering material from said outlet in the form of a lightly compacted sheet at a predetermined constant rate, a lightsensitive cell in said trunk, means at the same horizontal level as said cell or projecting a beam of light thereupon when not interrupted by material in said trunk at such level, a relay connected to said control means and adapted when energised to actuate the same to decrease the rate of delivery of material to said condenser, and electronic control apparatus connected to said cell and governing the operation of said relay, including means for energising said relay only after a delay when interruption of such illumination is just beginning or is momentary and for de-energising said relay relatively quickly when illumination of said cell is re-commenced after an interruption suificient to energise said relay.

7. The method of feeding loose opened fibrous material which consists in delivering the same at a constant normal rate into the upper portion of an upwardly extending receiver so long as the top of the column of material in the receiver is not above a predetermined level, modifying the rate of delivery of said material to the receiver when the top of said column rises to or above said level, and resuming such normal rate of delivery to the receiver whenever the top of said column falls below said level, compacting said material and extruding said material from the base of the receiver at a predetermined constant rate.

8. Apparatus for feeding loose opened fibrous material, comprising a feed trunk, means for delivering such material thereto, said feed trunk being disposed to receive the material and having an outlet, means for extruding material from said outlet at a predetermined constant rate, and means effective to maintain the rate of delivery of said material to said trunk at a constant normal rate so long as the top of the column of material in the trunk is not above a predetermined level, to modify the rate of delivery of said material to said trunk whenever the top of said column rises to or above said level, and to resume such normal rate of delivery to the trunk whenever the top of such column falls below said level.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 551,800 Tilston Dec. 24, 1895 1,814,129 Curley July 14, 1931 1,895,052 Schofield Jan. 24, 1933 2,357,475 Kane Sept. 5, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS 17,478 Great Britain of 1894 254,013 Great Britain June 28, 1926 972,692 France Aug. 30, 1950 

2. APPARATUS FOR FEEDING LOOSE OPENED FIBROUS MATERIAL, COMPRISING A ROTARY CAGE CONDENSER, MEANS FOR DELIVERING SUCH MATERIAL THERETO AT A CONSTANT NORMAL RATE, A GRAVITY FEED TRUNK BENEATH SAID CONDENSER, DISPOSED TO RECEIVE THE CONDENSED MATERIAL THEREFROM AND HAVING AN OUTLET AT ITS BASE, MEANS COMPRISING A PAIR OF CO-OPERATING OPPOSITELY ROTATING ROLLERS FOR CONTINUOUSLY EXTRUDING MATERIAL FROM SAID OUTLET AT A PREDETERMINED CONSTANT RATE IN THE FORM OF A LIGHTLY-COMPACTED SHEET, AND MEANS CONTROLLED BY THE RISE OR FALL OF THE LEVEL OF MATERIAL IN SAID TRUNK ABOVE OR BELOW A PREDETERMINED LEVEL FOR REGULATING THE RATE OF DELIVERY MATERIAL TO SAID CONDENSER BY SAID FIRST-MENTIONED MEANS. 